how do i find and replace items in a text file in pyscripter? [closed]

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how do i find and replace items in a text file in pyscripter?

In a script, I have put a list into a text file by converting it to a string. now it has square brackets in. I need to remove these so I can take out individual words and numbers. I need a script that will allow me to find and replace these brackets with "nothing".

please help!

this is what my text file currently looks like. 1

Answer 1

First of all, when you need to store a list in a file, use JSON, pickle or equivalent. JSON is preferred for long-term storage as well as for storage meant to be read by other programs, or sent over the wire:

import json

my_list = ["hello", "world"]

with open('file.txt', 'w') as f:
    json.dump(my_list, f)

Or, if all you want to do is store one word/sentence/phrase per line in plain text format:

my_list = ["hello", "world"]
with open('file.txt', 'w') as f:
    f.write('\n'.join(my_list))  # assuming your list isn't large
    f.write('\n')

(pickling, on the other hand, is good for temporary/internal storage, as well as storage of stuff you cannot convert into a form that JSON can handle; for more information, just find the documentation of the pickle module.)

Now, if you've screwed up and just put the string representation of a list into the file, you either clean it up manually, or you use the following helper:

import ast
import json

with open('file.txt') as f:
    contents = f.read()
contents = ast.literal_eval(contents)  # parses the string as if it were a Pytnon literal (which it is)

with open('file.txt', 'w') as f:
    json.dump(contents, f)  # write back as JSON this time

If your file contains multiple lists, each on a separate line, you can use this:

import ast
import json

with open('file.txt') as f:
    lines = f.read().split('\n')
contents = [ast.literal_eval(line) for line in lines]

# ...and now choose from above how you'd like to write it back to the file

NOTE: oh and... this really seems to have nothing to do with pyscripter, unless I've missed something.